5 Unexpectedly Awesome Things To Do In Vancouver

Clearly, we are partial, but there’s no better place to experience Autumn and all it’s glory than Vancouver, Canada. From the inner busy heart of Downtown, to the serene outer edges, Vancouver will surely take your breath away. We love being adventurous, discovering new places, and restaurants, and that we did. With only 72 hours to explore, we packed in 5 unexpectedly awesome things to do in the beautiful city.

Stanley Park

With over 400 acres of natural rainforest, scenic views of water, majestic mountains, and the Seawall, there is plenty to explore in Stanley Park. You could easily spend a whole day riding your bike, walking, and taking photos throughout the park. Our noses were filled with crisp, fresh air, and the scent of dewey leaves and wet Earth. We seriously had one of the best views of the Lions Gate Bridge from within the park. Since we were pressed for time, we were only able to drive the outer edge of Stanley Park, but one day I would love to go back and spend more time in the heart of the park exploring all of the hiking trails, aquarium and light house.

Lions Gate Bridge

The Lions Gate Bridge, officially known as the First Narrows Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects the Burrard inlet and the City of Vancouver, British Columbia. The bridge spans in length over 5,000 feet! It was pretty incredible to stand above it and look down upon all the cars rushing by. We ended up driving across the bridge to hike at the Lynn Canyon Park. It was completely foggy around us, so we could barely see where we were going, making it such a surreal experience.

Granville Island

This is a MUST see if you ever spend some time in Vancouver, British Columbia. We walked about 10 minutes from our hotel, The Burrard to the ferry dock and waited for a water taxi to take across the water. The first place we headed to was the Granville Island Public Market to browse the indoor farmers market filled with fresh produce, bread and seafood. We were blown away by how delicious and fresh everything looked! Artisans intermixed the food stalls selling their handmade crafts. After grabbing a bite to eat, we wandered the streets popping in and out of all the interesting shops – handmade musical instruments, beads, children’s toys and more. There was so much to do and see, we couldn’t possible have fit it all into the few hours we spent there. We will definitely be going back one day.

Explore The City

All we have to say is, this city is amazing! Our hotel, The Burrard had several free Brodie bikes for us to borrow and explore the city. First we cruised down Robson street, lined with some our favorite brands – Lululemon, Nordstrom, Zara and hundreds more. We weren’t really looking to shop, so we headed towards Yaletown to check out the harbor and grab a bite to eat. We ended up finding a place called Homer Street Cafe & Bar to sit down and have breakfast. To say it was delicious, is an understatement, the food blew our taste buds minds! We ended up going back again for dinner that evening, it was that good. Our last day in Vancouver, we took the bikes to a place everyone raved about called Cafe Medina. Their waffles were definitely worth the hype!

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

This was the last place we managed to fit into our tight schedule, and it was incredible! I am terrified of heights, but Josh convinced me to make my way across the bridge. In all honestly, it wasn’t even that bad. Partly because I had a death grip on the railing and refused to look down! We both made it to the other side though and I managed to put my arms in the air just long enough for him to take a picture. It was absolutely worth it though. The smell alone was amazing. If there was a way to bottle up the scent of all the trees and share it with you, I would.

Vancouver, British Columbia, you stole our hearts, and we will definitely be back to explore your beauty further in the future. For now, I have our photos to savor the memories we created in just four days there.

Have you ever been to Vancouver? What is your favorite thing to do there?

17 Comments

first of all you are adorable. You guys looked like you had fun and I am glad my home town exceeded your expectations. Just to be clear, Granville island, capillilano suspension bridge and lions gate, are likely number one two and three on yelps’so list of best things to do in Vancouver so maybe not so unexpected. Now an all nighter at the arts club theater with rugby team of Irishman and my sister serving you too strong cocktails all night…now that’s unexpected. 🙂 thanks for a great post!

Cristine C

Ayla

I stumbled upon your blog as I was looking for things to do in Vancouver (when the weather is not super sunny). I live in North Vancouver & have a friend coming from SF in November… Your list is AWESOME. Your pictures are incredible!!! I have yet to do the LV suspension bridge (as I’m scared of heights too), but will definitely tell her to go do it on a weekday morning.

Richard Nelson

Went to school for 2 years back in the 70’s. Lynn Canyon has always been my favorite place and have been there countless times. Was just there 3 weeks ago. I live in Iowa and i think that Iowa is beautiful too) so Vancouver is a great place to get aeay.

Nikita G

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Hello, and welcome to the Moose Studio Blog! We are Josh and Michaela - a wedding photography team based in Newport Beach, California. Grab some coffee and explore our latest work, browse resources for bloggers and get a peek in our life!